Compass Magazine

cooperatively they have made great progress. The Washington County Water Conservancy District has announced plans to build a reservoir in Warner Valley that would flood Fault Line and West Rim Lite trails within the Sand Mountain OHV area. Working with officials from the BLM office in St. George, officers of Desert RATS and UPLA have acquired grants to construct an alternative trail. It will be known as the Ridgeline Trail and will maintain access to the OHV area. The BLM awarded a grant of $110,000 to be used over the next five years for trail development and education. Funds will come from the BLM's local permit fees account. An additional $2,500 grant was obtained from OMIX-ADA/Rugged Ridge, an off-road product company, also for the construction of Ridgeline Trail. The major fund (and fun) raising project of Desert RATS is the Winter 4X4 Jamboree. It is an annual event conducted in January. The second annual Jamboree was held on January 22nd and 23rd in 2016. Both radical rock-crawling and easy, scenic trails are available at the Jamboree, an event headquartered at the fairgrounds at the Washington County, Utah, Regional Park. Four wheel drive is required for all trails. Drivers choose from over 25 trails. Each group is led by an experienced trail leader. Proceeds from the event are donated to land use organizations including the Utah 4 Wheel Drive Association, UPLA and the Blue Ribbon Coalition. In 2015, over 285 vehicles and more than 700 people participated. In 2016, 435 vehicles participated on Friday and 458 on Saturday. Participants come from all western states and as far as the Midwest, Minnesota and Florida. Over 1,000 people participated this year and dinner was served to 400.

OFF-ROAD ADVOCACY IN SOUTHWEST UTAH By Bud Sanders

I n March of 2014 The minded individuals interested in promoting and protecting use of our public lands by all members of the public. Desert RATS is a Utah non-profit all-volunteer organization. All funds raised above operating costs are donated to advocate groups promoting open access and multipurpose use. Simultaneously, in the Spring of 2014 a 501c3 all-volunteer corporation known as the Utah Public Lands Alliance (UPLA) was organized. UPLA's purpose is to preserve public lands for public use, principally through public education and representation. They work as an Desert Roads and Trails Society (Desert RATS) was formed by a group of diverse but like-

alliance between many varied users of public lands to maintain access and multipurpose use. The current pressing local land use concern is a proposed land swap which would allow part of the popular Sand Mountain off highway vehicle (OHV) area in Hurricane to be developed. It's a long running, complicated and contentious issue pitting land users against some local government and development interests. The cooperative relationship between Desert RATS, UPLA, and the local BLM is key to the mission of keeping off-road access to our public lands in southern Utah and the Arizona Strip. Trail closures often seem arbitrary and capricious, but by working

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